Thursday, January 29, 2015

1950's One Yard

Hostess Apron

A Perfect match with your fitted sheath, this perky little apron. The perfect mid-century housewife had the house spotless, dinner in the oven,candles lit, cocktails ready, and dressed for dinner before the man of house arrived home from a "hard" day at work.

This apron takes just one yard of your favorite vintage cotton or a great new designer fabric. Check out some of the Pattern Patter Team Members' shops for some great choices.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Get your tissues ready, no not that kind of tissue silly, this isn't a tear jerker. I'm searching sewing patterns modern and vintage to find the looks featured in classic films. Although it might not be possible to duplicate the exact look, I'll show you how to easily mimic the feeling of the style. Soon you'll see that a silver screen wardrobe is only a pattern away.

The Long, Hot Summer~a 1958 film adaptation of William Faulkner's literary work. Set in 1950s Mississippi, filled with over the top colorful southern characters. The Varner family is an interesting crew, led by domineering father Will Varner (Orson Wells) with 24 yr old "spinster" daughter Clara (Joanne Woodward) a spineless needy son Jody (Tony Franciosa) and his flirty bombshell wife Eula (Lee Remmick). Their lives collide with the bad reputation, misunderstood traveling guy, Ben Quick (Paul Newman... dreamy blue eyed Paul Newman).

Here's the movie trailer

I'd love to spend an evening with this dramatic group of characters, having after dinner mint juleps on the veranda... during a long, hot summer. Oh but what would I wear?? Eula and Clara both with such great individual style! I love elements of both...hmmm what to do, what to do...mint julep: nounminty summer cocktail2 cups water2 cups sugar1/2 cup chopped mint leavesboil together until sugar dissolves then strain out the mint leaves(this is your mint simple syrup)after this cools add 32 Oz of Kentucky Bourbonpoor over ice and top with a few mint leavesserves 8 maybe, but more like 3There are a few dresses that really stand out in this film, and I could whip up a great vintage dress to match their southern glamour. That classic yet va-va-voom look, perfect for my imaginary evening with the Varner family.

3.Draped high neckline-think of it as a controlled cowl neck or an exaggerated bateau.

bateau: noun (not the boat, the neckline)The A wide high neckline that follows the curve of the collarbone and ends in points at the shoulder seams.

This one is pretty close! The view in red, add a belt for a more defined natural waistline. It even has the empire waistline seaming with a blouson style bust, The perfect balance of cowl-meets-beateau neckline, plus the fitted midriff.

What a couple! The Long Hot Summer was their screen debut as an official couple. They were married by the time the movie was released. The two met 5 years earlier during a Broadway production of Picnic. Joanne was just an understudy. This non-Hollywood style couple were married for 50 years until Paul's death in 2008.

The Long, Hot Summer wardrobe credit goes to two of Hollywood's heavy hitters-

Adele Palmer (costume design)

and Charles LeMaire (executive wardrobe designer)

Both of these designers were career studio designers, each with an enormous filmography. They also designed a few sewing patterns, Adele Palmer for Advance and Charles LeMaire for Spadea. Best to keep an eye out for those rare gems.

Now, back to the dresses, here are just a few worn by Eula and Clara Varner in The Long, Hot Summer. Great attention to the details, lovely collars, lace accents, pleats, darts, and the fitted midriff.

I think it would be a great balance to add a bit of each gals style. Oh the southern charm in these lovely vintage sewing patterns, all patterns featured are all from members of the Pattern Patter Team for sale on Etsy.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Do you crack up or cringe when you hear the word "dickey"? It's one of those fashion items that one doesn't hear much about these days: the dickey seems to have (mostly) fallen out of favor (except with Howard Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory--he's a big fan!).

Historically, dickeys--defined as a false shirt front, or "detachable bosom" (really!)--were items worn by men: laundering garments was expensive (and difficult--no Maytags) in the 19th century, so just as collars and cuffs were removable on everyday shirts, the dickey could be laundered as it was the most visible part of the shirt seen underneath a man's jacket (which was rarely removed outside of the privacy of one's home). The dickey was most often an element of a formal shirt, one worn under a tuxedo or other formal suit. In addition, many uniforms had dickey fronts--again, as a way to save on laundering costs: the bellboy or waiter presented a neat appearance but didn't have to wash the entire shirt beneath the jacket. With the invention of celluloid, an early form of plastic, dickeys went high-tech (for the time). These plastic shirt fronts were held in place either with straps at the back or via trouser tabs. (By the way, the etymology of the word is unclear: Wikipedia says it may come from rhyming Cockney slang: "dickey dirt" means "shirt"; I'm not sure if that's true, but I like it!).

Advertisement for a man's false shirt front or "dicky"/"dickey". From Wikipedia, courtesy of The New York Public Library. www.nypl.orgThe dickey with which we are all probably most familiar in our own experience is the pullover turtleneck knit dickey, which is actually a smart idea: it adds warmth at the neck and throat without adding bulk. From my own youth, though, there were some rather unattractive examples out there (purple acrylic mock turtleneck under a polyester printed shirt, anyone?).

This is actually a free knitting pattern from FreeVintageKnitting.com; it is from Botany College Hand Knits, Vol. II (1958). In terms of women's garments, in the nineteenth century women began to wear chemisettes, or tuckers--these were lightweight (muslin, linen, lawn, lace) sort of half blouses (often tying at the sides) that covered the chest/bosom, both for modesty's sake and to alter the appearance of a dress at a time when people had far fewer clothes. The same dress could be worn in the evening without this item, and the dress would look very different.

Four chemisettes in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org); courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Three are from the mid-nineteenth century; the one at lower left is from ca. 1925-1930.
These are really kind of dickeys, yes? In the twentieth century, these sorts of items--dickeys and vestees--were worn almost as accessories, as a way to add interest at the neck (and again, change the look of a garment) without adding the bulk of a blouse. They often had bow ties, embroidery, or collars (the peter pan collar was a favorite). Vestees are, as far as I can ascertain, slightly longer garments, and seem to have less ornamentation--but maybe not: perhaps a vestee and a dickey are one and the same for all intents and purposes (fashionista historians, please weigh in and let us know!).
Whatever you call it, there are a million ways to use one of these faux-fronts to change up your wardrobe; in fact, they are a great way to transition between the seasons.

Now let's look at some dickey/vestee patterns from member of the Pattern Patter Team on Etsy! It's interesting to note that in many cases the dickeys/vestees look like part of the dress--you have to look closely to see that a dickey is part of the pattern.

Monday, January 12, 2015

It's Time for Another Pattern Patter Team

Giveaway!

With the holidays over and life starting to settle into a "normal routine", It's time for a new giveaway! This time it's the 1960's! Now the image most of us get when we think of the sixties is mod mini dresses and teeny bikinis. The sixties didn't start out that way. This grouping of sewing patterns, fabrics, and notions is from the early 1960's. Slim skirts, cropped jackets, beautiful hats and long gloves were the dress of the day!

To go with these lovely patterns, we have some great fabrics. While all of the fabrics are vintage, they may not be from the 1960's.

First I need to show you this great find. Vogue 4991 is almost done! It comes with it's fabric covered buttons too. A weekend and this dress is done!

The fabric feels like a nice fine lightweight wool. The Blackwatch look plaid is teamed up with a two tone wide waist.

Starting top left, The yellow floral by Steihl, is a "crepey" fabric with a very nice drape. It's 44" wide and 3 3/4 yards long. , Next is the almost completed dress. There are a few smaller pieces included. The white with watercolor roses, is a textured mid weight cotton or cotton blend. It would make a nice day dress. It's 40" wide and 3 1/4 yards long plus approximately 1 yard 20" wide. The bright floral is a slinky knit. It would make a great cowl top. It is 54" wide, 2 yards in length.

As for notions, there are belt buckles, buttons, needle books, Zipper, elastics, and more!

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Patio Skirt or Hostess Skirt, take your pick! This versatile skirt can fit any occasion! For everyday wear or a beach party, use denim, terry, or a playful cotton print. Going out for the evening? Try Sateen, Organdy, Dotted Swiss, or a Cotton Brocade. Lounge by the hotel pool in style on your next vacation!

First I dug through my huge amount of scraps - I have quite a variety of widths and lengths.

I chose a few to start with and then watched a YouTube Video on how to make it.

It's actually quite mindless work once you get the hang of it.

My first sample is tiny. It's trimmings from seam allowances.

The small is at the bottom of the picture, The red and blue is royal blue Kona Cotton, the red is a lightweight twill. I wouldn't recommend using twill as it frayed a lot.

The pastel is my personal favorite. It has 5 different fabrics.

So - go gather some scraps and tonight after the kids are tucked in and you are winding down, Start twisting!

Here's a couple of tips: tie the two pieces together then take the fabric strip that is the furthest from you and twist it away from you. Next, bring the one you just twisted over the other one. Now the other piece is ready to twist. Twist, bring over and keep doing it holding it tightly.

Once you have an inch or so done, it will stay twisted without your help.

Etsy Pattern Patter Team Showcase

Here are some randomly selected, live listings from members of the Pattern Patter Team Page on Etsy -
Click "refresh" to see even more listings!
Special thanks to Kevin of BetaRays, member of the Toronto Etsy Team for creating this free Team Showcase app!